Beside one lonely Spider
by Atlantean Twilight
Summary: A shot on Albus Potter's experiences at Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1

At first glance, the hall appeared to be completely deserted, aside from a large spider, a lone black speck in a shiny web about halfway down. Nothing was in any of the paintings, which, to Albus, was a bit strange. Nonetheless, he was happy to finally be alone..

Hogwarts was a huge school with only so many students, wizards and witches. But if you add in the ghosts, paintings, and a few other mythical things, you get the "Hogwart's magic", so Albus called what bothered him so much about the school. It was overcrowded. He didn't like the lack of privacy. He felt claustrophobic being around even one person for too long at Hogwarts. He simply couldn't explain it. Going to Hogwarts was supposed to be exciting!

It was close to what his father had told him it was, minus the threat of Voldemort. Portraits of Albus and Severus taunted his shyness, so he avoided them as much as possible. He was nothing like his father.

He had taken a single step when a voice rang out.

"Albus Severus Potter! What a clever name. An old headmaster, a double agent, and the last name of the killer of Voldemort. It's shameful how he cowers in empty dark corridors with the lonely company of spiders."

Albus didn't need to turn his head to know Severus Snape was peering down at him with that curious expression he always looked at him with. "I'd like to be called Albus, please," he said quietly. After a moment of silence, he thought that he hadn't been heard. He went to speak again.

"I know what you said, though I couldn't hear your mouse squeak," Severus snarled. Albus twitched involuntarily. He was too sensitive, and he knew it. He cowered within himself, hearing nothing of what Snape was blabbering about, and started walking fast down the hall, turning towards the bathroom.

"What an odd child," Severus whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry the first one was so short. Thanks, Anna, for the support, and I'm thinking on it :)**

It was getting nearer to lunchtime. Albus, facing the lone mirror in the boy's bathroom somewhere in Hogwarts, wondered how he had gotten lost simply by trying to find his Transfiguration class. The class was probably over by now. He splashed water in his face and shuddered, wiping it dry with a paper towel, then wandered back out to the hallway.

"Albus Potter, I thought you'd gotten lost again," came a feminine voice from behind him. "But I'd never thought it would take so unbearably long for me to find you when the professor asked me to look!"

Albus turned, and to his surprise, saw Marina Longbottom with her long dark hair blanketing her shoulders. The Herbology professor's eldest daughter, only a year younger than him, but smart enough to be able to not only skip classes, but skip her entire second year by doing all her years' worth in the summer.

"Are you going to continue staring at me like that?" she asked, and then started laughing. Albus relaxed at the sound. Something beeped, startling him and he looked around anxiously for the source.

"Albus...Albus!" she repeated, to get his attention. She pointed to a device on her wrist and smiled. "It's the alarm on my watch. It's telling us that it's lunchtime!" she walked over beside him. He flinched, looking uncomfortable as she grabbed his elbow. "To the mess hall!" she announced, and began to skip. Albus had to walk faster to prevent being dragged along behind.

They entered the large room that was the mess hall and Marina made a beeline towards the Ravenclaw table. One of Albus' fellow Hufflepuffs called him over. He passed the Gryffindor table on the way, where Rose Weasley beamed and waved to him.

Scorpious Malfoy, no matter how much he resembled his father, was nothing like him when it came to personality and interests. He loved animals and favoured Herbology as a subject. Defence Against the Dark Arts was his least favourite–ever since his first-year professor killed a spider on the first day. Even though the professor explained that he had only stunned the spider, Scorpious had never forgiven him.

Trisha Lovegood-Spencer sat next to him. She had altered her uniform so she was dressed like a gypsy, with flowing blonde hair down her back. She beamed at Albus and whispered, "Welcome back to humanity," then pursed her lips.

Scorpious glared at no one in particular. "You know what that bloody 'DADA' professor is making us do now? I want to drop out of that class, if only I could!" he slammed both hands on the table. Trisha laid a hand on his shoulder and he took a few deep breaths. "It sucks," he added, mournfully. "How was Transfiguration, Alby?"

Albus felt heat raise to his cheeks.

"We'll have to find you that Marauder's Map," Trisha said, beaming again. She always beamed when she talked.

Albus began to feel uncomfortable standing there but didn't want to sit down yet. That would be too awkward. What if they didn't want to talk to him that long?

"Have you seen that new kid?"

Albus looked at Scorpious blankly, who repeated himself. Albus shook his head.

"Guess what's funny," said Scorpious. "Him and his twin sister are the new 'Riddle's' of Hogwarts."

After a dramatic pause, Trisha added, "Adrian and Alice Riddle, to be more accurate. They transferred here from the Americas, I don't know which one."

"They're...differently," Scorpious said indifferently, as if Trisha's statement had ruined the excitement.

"You might have to pay more attention in DADA," Albus stammered uneasily. Scorpious laughed. He leaned over to Trisha and said loudly, "This is why I like this kid!"

Albus almost instantly felt excluded and unwanted–he moved to an empty table–it was the end table of the Slytherins, but he wasn't in the frame of mind to care. He grabbed an apple from the centre dish and started slicing it on his plate.

"Do you always sit alone?" Marina Longbottom was staring down at his apple. Beside and slightly behind her was a smaller girl, who seemed to get inwardly excited when he saw her.

Albus shook his head and Marina shot him a disbelieving look. "Well," she announced, "I'm going to drop her on you since you seem less judgmental than anyone else here," she paused and Albus glanced around the room, spotting a few glares cast in their general direction. Scorpious was laughing.

It took a moment for Albus to realize that Marina had pushed the girl forward, and had her seated in the chair facing him.

"Her name's Alice Riddle, if you haven't heard already," Marina sighed. "I'd look after her, but I have some volunteer chores to take care of. Oh, and don't talk to her brother," --a loud yell came from the other end of the Slytherin table–"Good luck," Marina added, visibly pretending not to hurry as she left the room.

"Shut up, Voldemort!" Albus heard his brother shout from the head of the Gryffindor table.

"You shut up, you–"

"Please, excuse my brother. We were born like you, with magical powers, but into a muggle family. We had no idea who Voldemort was, until we went to magic school."

Albus searched her face. He was being honest, or seemed to be. A spark in her eyes seemed to be held back by something he couldn't figure out until she tried to lay her hands on the table. They were shaking. She was afraid he'd hate her, like the others had.

Albus managed a smile, but she only smiled a squirmed a bit in response.

"Did you have Transfiguration class last period?"

_She was a Slytherin, right?_

Three houses, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff were all in that one class, which was odd, since it was usually two or all houses on one class. He had tried to seem curious–just curious.

"Yes. It was interesting," she replied, her voice unsteady. "I was introduced to the class, and then she gave out the outline to some sort of spell..."

_Might as well ask._

"Are you both in Slytherin?" he asked, a bit too bluntly, and winced at himself. "Out of curiosity, that's all."

She laughed, and to Albus, it sounded wonderful. "My brother's in Slytherin. I'm in Hufflepuff, just like you!"

Albus couldn't resist smiling, and, with nothing else in mind to say, be bit into an apple slice.

"So, your father's Harry Potter, isn't he?" Alice asked, trying to appear relaxed. "What did he do that was so important? If you don't mind me asking..."

An apple slice suddenly caught in his throat, and he had to cough to get it back up again. "Oh, um...nothing much, really..."

"Oh," Alice replied, looking a bit baffled. "Your brother made him sound like he was really important..."

"Do you have Potions next?" Albus asked. Startled, she shook her head, "I have some class about the care of Magical Creatures," she said. "I'm sorry, I won't ask about your Dad again if you don't want me too."

Albus smiled. "Don't worry about it. You'll like Hagrid."


End file.
